September 11, 2013

Faculty Hiring: Trinity

From an email that I received yesterday:

Trinity
Law School is seeking qualified candidates for one tenure track Assistant
Professor position. The candidate will be teaching courses that are
central to the law school’s commitment to integration of faith and law: Legal
Institutions and Values and Jurisprudence. The candidates must possess a strong
Christian commitment; a J.D. from an ABA accredited law school as well as
either a Th.M. or a Ph.D. in philosophy. Candidates must have relevant experience such as teaching law and/or
philosophy or have meaningful legal experience. Entry-level candidates
must show scholarly promise, as evidenced by publications in scholarly
journals, scholarly works in progress, or a scholarly agenda. To view more
detailed information visit: http://www.tiu.edu/hr/postings/assistant-professor-tenure-track-/

Albert:
Bigotry is ok in legal academia. (Yes, there are some exceptions to legal action to stop this sort of invidious discrimination, but really, so what?)
In hiring for a post in the legal academy, one may overtly favor some (based on race, age, gender, religion, etc.), and discriminate against others (based on race, age, gender, religion, etc.), with absolute impunity.
It seems to be the way of the world in legal academia.
What would be sort of hilarious, if not so sad, is the fact that most in legal academia think of themselves as righteous defenders of social justice, and will actually boast about these prejudices.

These comments strike me as profoundly mean-spirited and unnecessary. There are a number of law schools in this country with a Christian affiliation that engage in preferential hiring. It seems to me the faculty and students self-select for an education environment that is infused with spiritual beliefs they share. I fail to see the problem and find hostility towards a private theologically-driven institution troubling. We are, I would say, not a Christian nation, but a tolerant nation. Or we should be. The school is hiring, and there may be candidates especially interested in working in that sort of environment. Tolerate it.

Practices which are specifically forbidden in Scripture will not be condoned such as dishonesty, theft, abortion, premarital sex, adultery, homosexual behavior, profanity, gossip, pornography, and infringement upon the rights of others.